Are we in worse shape than 1994/5?

[Stan Lee Park]

The players we have now are better than the players we had then, not that you would know it.

The players we have now are far worse than those we had in 1994. I can't think of one who would get in that side.

 

[BirkenheadBlue]

The players we have now are far worse than those we had in 1994. I can't think of one who would get in that side.

On current form, I'd have to agree wholeheartedly.

If you're talking about when playing to their potential then that's a ridiculous statement.

 

[Khalekan]

Having sat here and actually pondered this question for half an hour or so I am changing my opinion and saying that we are no worse at this comparable stage of the season now than we were then.

In fact we are probably better off.

For several reasons.

All the criticisms we level at this squad now were also levelled at the players in November 1994.

Heartless, useless, rudderless, couldn't give a flying cuss about us etc.

And whilst Duncan Ferguson went on to become a legend at the club, when he first arrived that autumn with a couple of other loanees in a job lot from Rangers, including a useless get name of Ian Durant, there was a real sense of us scraping the barrel in hopeless desperation with this move.

Remember, this more or less same squad had avoided relegation by a hairs breath six short months before so the feeling of despair was not only palpable but also of recent memory.

Then there was the actual league position.

After 12 games today we are sitting, I think, 16th in the table with 12 points.

After 12 games then we sat rock bottom with 4 points.

We had our own Atalanta game back then as well.....Manchester City came to Goodison and walloped us 4-0 in front of a half empty stadium.

And this was a million miles from the City we know today.

Last but by no means least, the fear of relegation was greater back then because the nascent Premier League was being reduced in numbers at the end of that season and there were four teams to be relegated instead of the three there are today.

Finishing as high as fourth from bottom was not an option in 1994/95

So in conclusion......I have to say things are not as bad after 12 games as they were after 12 games in 1994

And for that small mercy, ol' Khal is very thankful

Keep the faith guys.....things ain't so bad....they are just more wrong than right at the moment

As Gloria Gaynor might have said if she had been a Siamese Twin....we will survive.


COYB

 

[Khalekan]

?????

He didn't. Unsworth was an honest, Everton supporting player but very very limited. He got into that side at the time because we were so poor.

There's a weird revisionism around him.

You are letting your unreasonable hatred of Davud cloud your vision, orly.

He was fine young centre half in 1994.

 

[PhilEFC]

I’m lucky enough to see our great teams in the 80’s, but for the majority of my life we’ve been gash really.

I feel sorry for you younger Blues, including my kids. At least over them years we’ve had players who would battle and scrap, this lot couldn’t win an argument.

They, along with the board and management, have managed to knock the enthusiasm out of one the most loyal fan bases there is. I hope they are proud of themselves.

 

[Khalekan]

On current form, I'd have to agree wholeheartedly.

If you're talking about when playing to their potential then that's a ridiculous statement.

+1

 

[orly]

You are letting your unreasonable hatred of Davud cloud your vision, orly.

He was fine young centre half in 1994.

Absolute rubbish.

Unreasonable hatred? I don't hate him at all. He's just not good enough to be the Everton manager.

He was an absolutely bang average player. Fine young centre half, christ.

 

[Stan Lee Park]

On current form, I'd have to agree wholeheartedly.

If you're talking about when playing to their potential then that's a ridiculous statement.

When are they miraculously going to start playing to their potential?
Who do you think has this potential? I have seen no potential at all this season.
And don't label my point of view as ridiculous. It's a point of view.

 

[BernieWright13]

Yes. Without any doubt.

And at this rate, the board will find themselves on all fours in front of fat Sam by Xmas.
The decline is incredible.

 

[trueblue10]

Hard to draw any positives right now. I still think we'll improve in the new year, but by christ have things been super grim recently..

On what basis do you think we can improve?

 

[truebluejersey]

Yes. Without any doubt.

And at this rate, the board will find themselves on all fours in front of fat Sam by Xmas.
The decline is incredible.

I'd take fat Sam tomorrow over all the other candidates. He may not be fashionable but if I had to choose anybody to give us a chance
of getting out of this mess it would be him.

I think last night was a wake up call, we are in a mess.

 

[KaiserEFC]

My father has been watching for about 60 years and reckons this is the worst he’s ever seen us. He does talk some rubbish but I believe him on this one.

 

[Khalekan]

Absolute rubbish.

Unreasonable hatred? I don't hate him at all. He's just not good enough to be the Everton manager.

He was an absolutely bang average player. Fine young centre half, christ.

A bit less stridency and a willingness to accept other people having a different opinion to yourself would go a long way, orly.

Just dismissing the other fellow's POV as being "absolute rubbish" ain't cool and totally negates owt you say afterwards.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

definitely, the biggest difference being that the club as a whole had some fight, the players found the will to show a bit of fight when we really needed it, I think that was driven by the fans who always came together at times like this and got behind the team, (especially at Goodison), the most alarming part of all this is that the demographic of the people who turn up at GP has changed a lot over the last 20 years and a consequence of that is the apathy in the stadium and the acceptance of the current shambolic management of the club. I don't think we have ever been as far behind the leading lights of English football and it looks like no one believes we can compete anywhere on or off the pitch.
The simple truth is we have forgotten how to be Everton, I cant really explain that but I am sure we all know what it means.
we kind of need to strip away all of the bullshit and get back to our roots.
The Championship may be the best place to start that process because it looks like that is where we are heading.

I think a big problem as well is the refusal from a large chunk of the fan base to accept that we're in trouble

So many people are still proclaiming we're not in a relegation dog fight

Until we accept our predicament we can't really tackle it

 

[orly]

A bit less stridency and a willingness to accept other people having a different opinion to yourself would go a long way, only.

Just dismissing the other fellow's POV as being "absolute rubbish" ain't cool and totally negates owt you say afterwards.

Doesn't negate what I say afterwards at all 'Khal'.

To say Unsworth was a fine young centre half, 'quality', is simply wrong. He wasn't. He barely played until Royle joined and, while that side will always be remembered for a great FA Cup win, it was a poor side overall.

Unsworth played once for England in an era when the side was on its knees. They'd not qualified in 94(?) had the home nation bounce in 96, and were abysmal in 98, 2000, and 2002. This "fine young centre half" and left back (Lol) got nowhere near it.

Moyes phased him out pretty quickly (interestingly, just after we'd finished, er, 17th).

It's not stridency, it's simply holding people accountable when the blue mist clouds the judgement. It's this sort of rot the club was trying to wallow in after our 'heartening Cup exit' to Chelsea as a reason to hire 'Unsy' (now DU in club missives, by the way) and he's paid them back by 6 of the worst performances I've seen them produce in many a year.